I've been off-roading since 1983 and Rock Crawling since Marlin founded the industry in 1994. In 2016 I bought my first IFS truck, a 2016 TRD Sport Tacoma (build thread), and have transformed it into a formidable Rock Crawler with a 580:1 Triple Transfer Case Crawl Ratio and a coming-soon over-the-counter Toyota IFS capable of handling 40" tires in the rocks. This IFS is known as the "Rock Crawling Long Travel" (RCLT) system (more info).

I've known about the shortcomings of the weak 1995+ IFS alignment cam tabs, and during a Rubicon trip last September, I managed to badly bend my tabs while leading a group up Cadillac Hill in the dark. A rock caught the side of my 40" passenger front tire at about 15 MPH which ripped the steering wheel out of my hand and killed the engine. It knocked my alignment out and I had to get the truck re-aligned which cost $70...

(Click each image for a larger view)

Top of Cadillac Hill, 4:30am, and how limited the view is out of the Tacoma

Then this past February we entered our first prototype RCLT IFS system into the King Of The Hammers (KOH), which is the World's most difficult one-day off-road race. Our V1 prototype RCLT was the only Toyota IFS system in the competition and was installed under a V8-powered 4th gen 4Runner that got ranked as the #2 vehicle of KOH (source). Unfortunately it got taken out early due to clipping a large rock with their 35" passenger front tire at almost 30 MPH. Their damage was worse than mine as it sheered the steering arm and bent the frame at the lower control arm's (LCA) rear mount.

It was the combination of both weak cam tabs and thin LCA frame mount flanges that prompted the development of the new Marlin Crawler HD LCA Frame Brace Kit.

What is this?

The new Marlin Crawler HD LCA Frame Brace Kit is a set of USA-made laser cut 1/4" plate steel components that are welded to your IFS sub-frame assembly. The kit includes parts for all four LCA frame mounts, and once installed they...

Fully encompass all 16 factory cam tabs,

Cover the outer face of all 8 LCA flanges, making each flange 3.8-times thicker than factory, and

** The inner cam tab enjoys the largest strength increase which is ideal for handling larger side impact loads (sliding into a rock or landing off-camber from a jump) (this is the cam tab that I bent on the Rubicon).

How difficult to install?

Our new HD LCA Frame Brace Kit installs over the top of your frame and existing factory components. Therefore, our new kit can be installed without removing your suspension or alignment hardware, which means this job can be done with the truck on the ground and without requiring vehicle re-alignment.

Welds may be added between each flange mount pair for maximum strength, however this is not required and could be done at a later date, for example when servicing, replacing, or upgrading your LCAs.

For reference, this is 2.4- and 8.4-times stronger than 1/4" cam gussets.

In addition, these Upright Gussets increase the wall thickness of each LCA flange from 0.126" (3.2mm) to 0.472" (12mmm), for nearly 4 times the wall strength of every flange!

4 x Heavy Duty Lower Frame Mount Gussets

We then add 1/4" thick plates to the bottom of each LCA mount, converting each into a very strong double-sheer design.

These plates also gusset the sub frame assembly, spreading forces across a very wide area to resist bending under severe impacts or bottoming out while jumping.

They also bridge the gap under each LCA mount, protecting bushing sleeves & grease Zerks (if applicable) while providing a flat surface that slides over rocks instead of exposed factory-thin edges that can get damaged while wheeling.

Here come some installation detail pictures from our first prototype with my Tacoma

My suspension was removed because I was in the middle of installing my second V2 RCLT Prototype. Otherwise I could have left all suspension components installed and just welded the new Marlin Crawler HD Brace Kit parts on.

This info will be included in the Installation Guide, but if you're worried about heat affecting your bushings, then just do one bead of weld per LCA mount at a time, misting some water to help with cooling.

More on this is that (1) the majority of the welding is done away from your bushings, (2) our HD parts are very thick and absorb most of the heat, such that (3) heat transfer to your bushings is not a big concern. In fact, the original Toyota frame paint on my factory cam plates and inside face of each flange didn't even melt off.

Here is what a cam eccentric looks like installed. Depending on the position of your hardware, our HD Uprights add additional support around the indexed flange, spreading the load across a surface far greater than only just the cam tabs.

-------------------EDIT: I forgot to include the carnage picture of the bent rear LCA mount from the King Of the Hammers 4Runner. This is their passenger side rear LCA mount. Both flanges bent rear-ward (left in this view) pretty badly, and for sure our HD Brace Kit would have prevented this!

Hey Bigmike, I have a few questions. I run a 4 pieces aftermarket skipplate. By the way I have a 3gen 4runner 97. I was just curious if it will clear my skips. They are high clearence skips for ifs front end. You can pm me I live locally, maybe we can figure something out

Hey Bigmike, I have a few questions. I run a 4 pieces aftermarket skipplate. By the way I have a 3gen 4runner 97. I was just curious if it will clear my skips. They are high clearence skips for ifs front end. You can pm me I live locally, maybe we can figure something out

Hey Jaysen! Thank you for the question. Depending on what skid plates you have, some trimming may be required. We'll be starting on 3rd gen 4R soon, so if you're local, would you mind swinging by sometime so I can take some measurements from your setup? If so then thanks!

2. Due in part to our 4th of July Week Specials, for today and today only we have the 2005+ 2nd & 3rd gen Tacoma Kit back on the special introductory price of $99! Retail is $129, it's on sale for $110, then once added to your cart add the discount code JULY19 for a final sale price of $99!

Check out this perfect example installation image from TacomaWorld forum member Taconator_.

The installation was performed by Shmellmopwho, and was done without disassembling any of the suspension. When asked if the factory control arm bushings got warm, Shmellmopwho described his install process as follows:

Quote from: Shmellmopwho

"Dude first of all, those things fit awesome. Very easy install!

I just was careful to not weld too hot and not weld too much in the same area at the same time. I alternated from an area near the bushing to a joint away from the bushing and back and forth. The way I welded it, I didn’t have a ton of welding time near the bushing. Felt like the places I welded it were gonna make it plenty strong enough for keeping the cam tabs strong and braced."

Simple to install without altering your alignment or suspension. That's what we like to hear!

Let us know how your install process went because we'd love to share your story!